Back & Forth, Up & Down, North to South

The seasons go by quickly...it seems like we just moved Rancher Dan's cows north to Princeton for the winter, and now we're already moving them south to Diamond to calve!

Day One:

The temperature was in the teens, but the sun was shining, and the wind kept itself to a minimum. We started early so we could get the cows across the desert before the ground surface got greasy and hard to travel on.

Four new calves were born that night, so we had to cut them out and leave them behind. Many of the cows looked like they were ready to pop any moment! Today's trip is about 14 miles.

Starting out across the desert...the sage brush sea.

The cows were moving out really good...they kept up a steady pace and stayed on track most of the time. Their internal GPS was pretty much on target!

Looking back at where we came...between the two buttes.

There were spots of snow under the sage brush and ice covered the water holes. But by the time we reached the county road, the ground had started to thaw out and it was mucky.

Counting cows through the gate...the numbers are all recorded in the Red Book.

I was bundled up from head to toe...including insulated bib overalls, wool railroad cap and hooded sweatshirt...I didn't look like much, but I stayed relatively warm. We started the cows out at about 8 AM and arrived at the half way point around 3 PM.

On the county road...we walked our horses to keep our ol' bones movin'! This is the view from Colt's eye.

Rastus got to help some when a few cows would decide they needed to veer off track...and he did a very good job...I was proud of him since he's been off all winter with just a few practice days on our cows. When we got onto the county road, there's a fence on both sides, so there wasn't much need for his help. But Rastus was content to just be there.

The cows are lined out for over a mile.

Rancher Dan's wife showed up with refreshments and food. Even though it was cold, the beer I had tasted pretty good! We waited for the sandwiches until we got to the destination...too cold to take my gloves off!

My two good boys.

Everyone arrived safely and the cows went straight for the hay that had been laid out for them...except for one cow who went straight to the fence line, stopped in the corner and burst her water...the first of how many calves for that night?

Tomorrow...day two~

Participating in:
Rurality Blog Hop #4

Colt ~ Barn Wood Shadow

Ol' favorites...chipped, cracking blue paint on the barn siding and my best horse ~

Barn Wood Shadow

~ Running Shadow ~

In the flower garden, tucked up next to the house out of the snow yesterday morning, this lil' guy is still runnin' in the summer sun!

Running Shadow

Friday Fences ~ The Round Pen

With branding season upon us, My Man and I are honing up our roping skills. To be honest, we're both rookies at roping, so we need all the practice we can get!

This was a pleasant Friday evening with the sun starting to set making the shadows long. My Man is practicing his rope management skills by dragging a log in the round pen with his horse Whiskey. I'm watching from up above on the circus pole area (giving him my 2 cents worth as usual!). The shadow at Colt's front feet is Red Dog.

Evening shadows

This fence isn't ornamental, but very functional...and a place where I spend a lot of time training young horses.

Come along on Life According to Jan and Jer's Friday Fences blog hop!!

Happy Friday!!

Shadow Horse

~The gold rush nearly killed what decency we had.~

~Katherine Potts 1890~

I've been bad and not shown Colt's handsome face on my blog for a while...well, here's half of him!





I'll work harder to get the whole handsome fella next time...and maybe more than just a shadow!